News

AC/DC and DC/DC Converter Technology Keeps on Rolling With 3 New Products

December 15, 2021 by Jake Hertz

Power converters, whether AC/DC or DC/DC, haven't slowed down their roll to keep up as technology advances. This month has seen an outpour of converters hoping to be the next best thing.

Almost every electrical device, whether battery-powered or wall-powered, relies on power conversion in some capacity. Whether it’s AC/DC conversion for wall power or DC/DC conversion for regulation and voltage rails, power converters are in any electronic product. 

 

An example AC/DC converter circuit.

An example AC/DC converter circuit. Image used courtesy of Altium

 

With this in mind, converters are a fundamental and crucial aspect of most electrical designs. Last week alone has seen multiple news headlines made around the topic of power converters. 

This article will look at some of these headlines to see what’s happening in the industry. 

 

Silanna Semiconductor Ramps Up Production 

This week's first headline related to converters was from Silanna Semiconductor, who announced that they are significantly ramping up volume production of a suite of AC/DC and DC/DC converters

The flagship AC/DC and DC/DC products from Silanna live in their CO2 Smart Power portfolio

Notably, this portfolio consists of the SZ1110, which includes the industry's first fully-integrated active clamp flyback AC/DC controllers, as well as the SZPL3102A, a DC/DC converter that offers an impressively small size of 3 mm x 3 mm and high efficiency.

 

Functional block diagram of the SZPL3102A.

Functional block diagram of the SZPL3102A. Image used courtesy of Silanna Semiconductor

 

As a whole, the CO2 Smart Power portfolio is named for its high efficiency, allowing for less wasted electricity and hence less CO2 emissions. 

For AC/DC conversion, the SZ1110 can achieve efficiencies higher than 94.5% thanks to the use of an active flyback converter and a high level of integration. 

For DC/DC conversion, the SZPL3102A achieves this by combining buck conversion with dual input LDOs for product bias. 

 

Eggtronics QuarEgg+ 

The next newsworthy headline of the week was the release of Eggtronics' new QuarEgg+ AC/DC converters

 

Eggtronics' QuarEgg+.

Eggtronics' QuarEgg+. Image used courtesy of Eggtronic
 

Explicitly designed to offer lower power, smaller size AC/DC converters, the QuarEgg+, which is the first in Eggtronic's new EcoVoltas family, is the first Eggtronic product to use a new, proprietary power architecture. 

The architecture, which remains proprietary, works using zero voltage switching under all load conditions and allows for the removal of a high voltage, high-side clamping field-effect transistor (FET). 

The result of this new architecture is that the QuarEgg+ can achieve efficiencies up to 95% at full load while also consuming a standby power of less than 18 mW. 

According to Eggtronics, the new QuarEgg+ architecture will enable power converters to be up to 7x more efficient and 3x smaller than traditional silicon-based converters while maintaining a 3x power and 2x size improvement over galium-nitride (GaN) converters.

 

Traco Power’s Medical Converter 

Our final headline of the roundup comes from Traco Power with the release of its new THM 60WI Series of medical power converters. 

 

A THM 60WI Series converter.

A THM 60WI Series converter. Image used courtesy of Traco Power

 

The new THM 60WI Series consists of a variety of 60 Watt DC/DC, each offering extra high, 5000 VAC isolation and minuscule leakage currents of 4.5 uA. 

These specs are extra crucial in the medical field, as the fragile condition of patients requires extra stringent standards for power electronics. To this end, the units have also received approval according to IEC/EN/ES 60601-1 3rd edition for 2 x MOPP and IEC/EN/UL 62368-1 

Beyond high safety, the new series also achieves efficiencies up to 92% and temperature ranges from–40°C up to +75°C with derating. 
 

Converters Keep On Innovating 

While very fundamental, power converters are far from stagnating in terms of their continued innovation. With innovations like Silanna, Eggtronics, and Traco Power, the field is still growing in many directions, constantly improving in size, efficiency, and safety.

 


 

Interested in other converter news? Read on in the articles down below.

New Infineon Flyback Converters Target Power Losses in USB Power Delivery

TI Claims an Industry First—a DC/DC Controller With an Integrated Active EMI Filter

Simplifying Power IC Designs: 3 Companies Tackle Power Conversion Systems